The present invention relates to remote communications and, more specifically, to email control and security.
Electronic mail, or email, is an increasingly popular way to communicate. With the growing number of computers, and other networked devices and their connectivity over the Internet, email will likely continue to be one preferred method for communication. Advances in networking technologies have helped to improve and refine the utility and ease of email usage. The versatility in the use of email stems from the ability of computer users to readily send and receive email messages on various computer platforms running various operating systems and email programs.
Typically, email is possible through the use of an email program. Such an application program allows for the creation, transmission, receipt, and review of email over local or remote area networks, or the Internet. The relative ease of these application programs facilitates great freedom and versatility in communicating through email. For example, one user of an email program can create an email and transmit the email to a second user. Upon receipt of the email, the second user, who may not necessarily use the same email program as the first user, can receive and access the contents of the email. In response to the email, the second user can create a reply in the form of another email for transmission to the first user. As another possibility, the second user could choose to forward the email of the first user to a third user. In conventional email programs, forwarding an email to another is simple. Very often the forwarding of email requires only click(s) with a mouse, or other similar input device, on an appropriate icon, or other prompt, enabling forwarding of the message.
The third user who received a forwarded email likewise accesses the forwarded email with relative ease. Usually, the email program provides the third user with some identifying distinction between the contents of the forwarded email and accompanying contents of a message, if any, by the second user. The third user accesses forwarded email of the first user or the email of the second user by, for example, an appropriate mouse click, on the desired email. After accessing and reviewing either email, the third user can communicate with the author of the selected email with another click of a mouse on an appropriate icon enabling a reply. In light of the ease in creating, forwarding, and replying to email, it would be highly advantageous to provide selective control and security over the flow of email, when desired.
The present invention solves the problems associated with the prior art by providing methods and systems for providing network communication control and security.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method and system for controlling email transmission includes creating a first email by a first user having an email address in the first email. The first email is sent to a second user. The first email is attached to a second email. The second email, including the first email, is forwarded to a third user. The third user is controlled in creating a third email to reply to the first user after the third user""s receipt of and access to the second email and the first email.
In another aspect of the present invention, a control mode having at least one control option is activated to selectively control the third user in replying to the first user.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, an access denial mode is activated to prohibit the third user in replying to the first user.
These and various other embodiments of the present invention, as well as the advantages and features of all of its many embodiments, are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached figures.